Studio ZAT Organizes a Series of Comprehensive Filmmaking Workshops

Studio ZAT Organizes a Series of Comprehensive Filmmaking Workshops

Studio ZAT, a partner of the Arab Cinema Center (ACC), continues presenting workshops in all areas related to filmmaking. This month, the studio is organizing the Filmmaking Workshop with director Mohammad Nader starting Wednesday, November 29 for four months. The Filmmaking Workshop is going to include meetings with a group of remarkable filmmakers such as DOP Mahmoud Lotfy, Production Designer Hend Haidar, Costume Designer Yasmine El Kady, Editor Emad Maher, Acting Coach Shady Khalaf and Director Hala Galal.

At the same time, Studio ZAT is getting ready for organizing the Costume Designing Workshop with costume designer Yasmine El Kady starting Friday, December 1 for one month. Moreover, The Emotional Body Workshop with French dancer Florence Moutin will also take place starting Friday, December 8 for one week.

Last October, Studio ZAT organized the Acting For Camera Workshop with Canadian writer and actress Sarah Warren and the Contemporary Dance Workshop with contemporary dancer Anna Maria. Last September, Studio ZAT held the Art Direction Workshop with production designer Hend Haidar, the Storytelling Workshop with actress Arfa Abdel Rassoul and in August,the studio organized the Film Editing Workshop with Editor Emad Maher.

Studio ZAT aims to offer specialized workshops for amateur and professional actors to advance their craft. Participants are taught by Egyptian and foreign trainers within a suitable environment offered by Studio ZAT. The studio offers diverse workshops such as: acting workshops, which includes special training concerning cameras, theatre, filmmaking for beginners workshops, theatre direction workshops, body dynamics workshops, scriptwriting workshops, as well as acting workshops for children aged 8-12 years old to bring out their creativity and enhance their communication and storytelling skills.

Since its foundation by Shady Khalaf in 2015, more than 1000 participants have graduated from Studio ZAT and 68 workshops in 13 different areas have been completed. The studio has also collaborated with many professional trainers like Egyptian star Mahmoud Hemida, DOPs Ahmad Al Morsy and Mahmoud Lotfy, maestro and voice coach Mohamed Osman, Scottish actor Laurance Rudic, British dance artist Zosia Jo, Canadian writer and actress Sarah Warren and French dancer Florence Moutin.

Organized by MAD Solutions in 2015, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) is an international promotional platform for Arab cinema as it provides the filmmaking industry with a professional window to connect with their counterparts from all over the world through a number of events that it organizes. The ACC also provides networking opportunities with representatives of companies and institutions specialized in co-production and international distribution, among others. The Center's activities vary between film market main wings, introduction and networking sessions for Arab and foreign filmmakers, welcome parties, as well as meetings with international organizations and festivals, and the issuance of the Arab Cinema Magazine to be distributed at the leading international film festivals and markets.

Furthermore, newsletter subscription is now available on the ACC's website, allowing users to obtain digital copies of the Arab Cinema Magazine, as well as news on the ACC's activities, notifications of application dates for grants, festivals and offers from educational and training institutions, updates on Arab films participating at festivals, exclusive news on the Arab Cinema LAB, and highlights from the ACC partners and their future projects.

The ACC also launched an English-language Arab Cinema Guide, available on its website, which is a comprehensive cinematic guide that comprises a variety of tools presented collectively for the first time to offer information on Arab cinema to filmmakers inside and outside of the Arab world. It also aims to facilitate filmmakers' access to international markets and help film industry representatives to easily identify Arab film productions.

Since the beginning of 2017, the ACC has made 19 stops at international festivals and markets. The festivals attended are the International Film Festival of Rotterdam (IFFR), Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), Beirut Cinema Platform (BCP) held within the Beirut Cinema Days, Istanbul Film Festival, Tripoli Film Festival, the 34th WIPO SCCR in Geneva, Cannes Film Festival, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Eurasia International Film Festival, Festival del film Locarno, Venice International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Film and Television Careers Connection (FTCC), San Sebastian International Film Festival, Malmo Arab Film Festival, Cape Town International Film Market & Festival (CTIFMF), Days of Cinema in Palestine, MedFilm Festival in Italy and the LatinArab Co-Production Forum.